Denver Broncos free agency rumors: Running back a priority

The Denver Broncos are reportedly interested in the running back market in free agency. Who are some of their options right now?

The Denver Broncos have plenty of areas to improve in the 2020 free agency period, and while most people are of the opinion that they should pay up for defensive players in this free agent climate and draft offense, the Broncos may not agree.

According to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, the Broncos are scanning the running back market in free agency and were apparently interested in the possibility of adding David Johnson, who was involved in a trade for DeAndre Hopkins on Monday.

If the Broncos were willing to potentially trade for Johnson, it means they were also potentially willing to pay his $10.2 million, fully guaranteed, base salary.

And if that is the case, it stands to reason the Broncos are not completely out of the market for upper-tier free agent running backs. Namely, someone like Melvin Gordon of the Los Angeles Chargers is not out of the question, by any means.

Aside from Gordon, the Broncos could look at the (potentially much cheaper) option of Jordan Howard, who probably knows Vic Fangio from his days in Chicago.

Howard could be the player who eats carries while the Broncos put Phillip Lindsay to work as a change of pace and receiving back, provided he works on his receiving skills this offseason.

Both Howard and Gordon make some level of sense for the Broncos, but how about an out-of-the-box, blockbuster type idea?

What about seeing what the Panthers would want for Christian McCaffrey?

If DeAndre Hopkins is getting traded by the Texans for a 2nd-round pick and David Johnson, what’s the worst the Panthers could say for McCaffrey, who has one year left on his rookie contract with a fifth-year club option?

The Broncos wouldn’t be doing anything wrong by asking what the price might be.

What if the Broncos could get McCaffrey for something like Royce Freeman, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick? He’s such a valuable piece to the offensive puzzle, that might be a deal worth considering, not only for the Broncos but for the rebuilding Carolina Panthers.

Although that option is far-fetched, the Broncos and the running back market must be monitored closely at this point.